Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian and Sen. Joel Villanueva inspect the features of the agency’s new disaster response mobile vehicles and equipment during a ceremonial launch at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC), the main disaster response hub of the agency in Pasay City, on Friday (February 7).

During the activity, the DSWD chief and Senator Villanueva took sips of the potable water from one of the two new mobile water treatment units of the agency.

The two high-ranking government officials also served rice porridge in one of the 15 mobile kitchens that will be deployed to DSWD Field Offices to serve hot meals for disaster-stricken families and individuals.

Secretary Gatchalian and Sen. Villanueva also  checked on the two new water tanker trucks, one reach truck, and two forklifts. These new sets of equipment are part of the third batch of the DSWD’s overall logistics capacity building package, which Sen. Villanueva worked for inclusion in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Also present at the ceremonial launch was United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Regis Chapman.

The DSWD officials who attended the activity include Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe of the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG); Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DRMG; Asst. Secretary Ulysses Hermogenes of Community Engagement; Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for DRMG Leo Quintilla, who is also concurrent Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB); and Director Michael Cristopher Mathay of the Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB). (AKDL)